Talk To Me
by hummerhouse
Summary: Leo is injured while out on patrol. It's up to Mikey to keep them safe. One shot. Warning for mild TCest.


Talk To Me

"Hang on, Leo," Mikey said, settling his brother against the wall of the storage shed.

Digging into his belt, Mikey extracted his lock picking tools and quickly got the metal door open. After taking a fast glance around, Mikey leaned down and wrapped Leo's good arm over his shoulder, then reached around his brother to grab the edge of his carapace. With a solid grip on Leo, Mikey pulled him to his feet.

Leo's head bobbed before he shook it, clearing the cobwebs that felt like they were growing behind his eyes. Seeing where Mikey had brought them, he sighed in approval and willed his legs to move so that Mikey wouldn't have to carry him.

Once they were all the way in, Mikey kicked the door shut behind them. Without the moon penetrating into the shed, the inside was dark as coal.

Mikey pulled out one of his emergency light sticks and snapped it against his thigh. The white light was bright enough for him to see the room that they were in.

A low wooden crate standing against one wall was covered in a tarp and Mikey helped Leo over to it. As soon as Leo was seated, Mikey darted back over to the door and engaged the lock, listening carefully for any sounds from outside.

"Mikey." Leo's voice was low.

Returning to his brother swiftly, Mikey said, "I'm right here, Leo. We're safe; they haven't followed us. If they start searching the area, they won't be able to get to us."

"Call Donny," Leo told him.

"I already did," Mikey said quietly.

Mikey was worried; Leo had heard him make the call to alert both Raph and Don about being ambushed by Foot ninja. Leo had even instructed Mikey to tell them not to attempt a rescue until the coast was clear.

Leo's eyes were trying to slide shut despite his best efforts to stay alert. He understood what that meant.

"Losing blood," Leo rasped. Those two words felt like they had sucked all the oxygen out of him and he drew in a long, shuddering breath.

Mikey checked the wound on Leo's upper arm. Although Mikey had wrapped his mask tightly around the gash, it was still bleeding profusely. Tightening his lips, Mikey knew the makeshift tourniquet wasn't working.

Digging into his belt again, Mikey got out the small sewing kit that Donatello had given to each of them. Moving the light stick so that it illuminated Leo's arm, Mikey started threading the needle.

Leo was leaning back against the wall, fading in and out of consciousness. He was vaguely aware that Mikey was in motion next to him and he forced his head to turn enough so that he could see his little brother.

The motion caught Mikey's eye and he looked up.

"Sorry bro', can't wait for the ambulance," Mikey said with a grin. "Afraid you're gonna have to put up with my doctoring skills."

"'Kay Mike," Leo murmured. "Do what you have to."

Holding the needle in one hand, Mikey took a moment to breathe deeply and calm himself. He was certainly not a novice when it came to stitching up a wound; shell, he'd even stitched himself before. It was just that Mikey had never tackled such a serious injury. Those were usually left to Donatello or Master Splinter.

"Gotta take the tourniquet off," Mikey told his brother, suiting the action to his words.

When the mask fell away, a fresh trickle of blood painted Leo's arm. Wasting no more time, Mikey pinched the loose flap of skin together and inserted the needle.

Leo's hiss stopped him. Looking up, he saw that Leo's head was back against the wall, his eyes closed and his mouth stretched in a tight line of pain.

"Dude, I'm sorry," Mikey said. "I'll go as fast as I can. Stay awake for me, okay?"

"Talk to me Mike," Leo asked, his voice slightly slurred.

"First time anyone ever asked me to talk," Mikey said lightly. He pulled the first stitch tight and started on the next. "Usually you guys are telling me to be quiet. It's funny, here I have a captive audience and I'm not even sure what I should talk about."

Another stitch done and Mikey stole a quick glance at Leo's face. His brother's breathing was harsh sounding, but his head was turned towards Mikey and his eyes were partly open.

Giving Leo a quick smile, Mikey went back to sewing his brother's arm.

"I was so sure this was gonna be a quiet night," Mikey said, continuing to give Leo something to focus on. "I told Raph even he wouldn't be able to find any trouble to get into. That made Donny happy; he swears Raph is a danger magnet."

Leo made a sound and Mikey looked up at him again. "Doesn't like to split up," Leo said.

Mikey returned to his job, saying, "No Don doesn't. He's always telling me about odds; like the odds of something really bad happening to one of us increases exponentially based on how many of us are there. He'll probably put this incident into one of his computers and calculate the number of Foot ninja that can dance on the head of a pin."

Leo's low chuckle was encouraging and Mikey continued, "Raph will just be pissed 'cause he missed out on a fight. I don't think he'd recognize his own fists if they weren't covered in bruises."

Mikey switched the needle to his other hand for a second so he could open and close his sewing hand a few times. He was tense and gripping the needle too tightly; his hand was starting to cramp.

"Finished?" Leo asked murkily.

"Sorry, not yet bro'," Mikey said. "I needed to make a minor adjustment. Here we go; I'm about half done."

As he began stitching again, he heard Leo say, "Save the world."

It took Mikey a second to pick up his brother's train of thought. "Oh, you mean Raph. Yeah, he is kind of a one Turtle mission without a mission statement. You know that's part of the reason he's always in such a hurry and so impatient; he's bent on cleaning the streets of New York single handedly."

Leo's cough stopped him again. His brother started to tip sideways, his carapace sliding on the shed's wall.

Mikey got a solid grip on Leo's arm, pinching the needle between his fingers so that his brother's movement wouldn't yank the stitches loose. With his other hand, Mikey caught Leo's shoulder and helped him lie down.

"Don't want . . . to pass . . ." Leo murmured.

"It'll hurt less if you wanna take a little nap," Mikey said.

He actually wasn't sure if it was okay to let Leo slide into unconsciousness. If he'd had a bump to the head, Mikey knew not to let him sleep. The loss of a lot of blood was something else entirely.

"No," Leo's voice came back a little stronger. "Talk Mikey."

This time it was Mikey's turn to laugh. "You are way more stubborn than Raph ever dreamed of being. I think that pisses him off too; he feels like he's arguing with a brick wall."

"Not you," Leo whispered.

"Hmm," Mikey hummed, trying to decipher Leo's meaning so he wouldn't have to ask. "Well, I like to get my way just like any of us do," he said, guessing at Leo's train of thought. "I just find it's easier to roll through Raph's punches and attack from a different direction. You're the only one crazy enough to go toe to toe with the big guy."

"My job," Leo said.

Mikey nodded as he ran another stitch, realizing after a second that Leo's eyes were closed and he couldn't see the agreement.

"Yep, that's your job and welcome to it," Mikey said. "I know you wanted to be leader ever since we were little, but I'll never understand why. Personally, I prefer my role in the family of the devoted and handsome younger brother."

"Spoiled," Leo said with a little smile.

"I like that part too," Mikey admitted with a chuckle. "You should try it sometime, Leo. Take a day off and just relax."

"Can't afford . . . ." Leo began.

"Oh hush," Mikey scolded. "It won't kill you to sit on your ass for one day and do absolutely nothing. And by the way, from the extent of this wound, you aren't gonna have much choice in the matter."

"Hate that," Leo told him with a grimace. His eyes fluttered open and found Mikey's.

Mikey's grin was gentle. "I know. How about I volunteer to be your entertainment committee? I'll even, gasp, do extra work in the dojo so you can watch me and critique my form."

"Like your form," Leo murmured.

The grin on Mikey's face expanded. "Now I know you're feeling better. Hey, next time though, just drag me off into a deserted sewer tunnel if you wanna have me all to yourself. You getting hurt like this just hampers our extracurricular activities."

Reaching the end of the wound, Mikey tied off the string and leaned down to cut it with his teeth. He felt Leo's breath blow across the top of his head and looked up to find his brother staring at him.

"You could always top," Leo said with a hint of humor.

Mikey's heart fluttered in his chest and he captured Leo's mouth with his own. The kiss was brief; Mikey knew it was hard for his brother to breath because of the blood loss.

"Don't think I'm letting you off the hook of that offer just 'cause you're hurt," Mikey whispered.

"Delirious," Leo murmured, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards.

"Already dreaming up a defense? No one who knows you would believe it for a minute," Mikey joked.

Standing up he crossed the small space and once more listened at the door. He heard nothing, but just at that moment his shell cell vibrated.

"'Lo," he answered.

_"The Foot have vanished,"_ Don said. _"Where are you guys?"_

"In a storage shed on top of the condo building at the intersection of 43rd and Walling," Mikey told him. "We're probably gonna have to carry Leo."

_"How bad is it?"_ Don asked sharply.

Mikey had moved back to stand next to Leo, who smiled up at him. The wound was no longer bleeding and Leo tried to hide his pain, but Mikey knew his brother well.

"I stitched the injury," Mikey told him. "But he lost a fair amount of blood before I could get to it. He'll be fine, but he sure is gonna be cranky for a couple of days."

_"We'll be there in a few minutes,"_ Don said and disconnected the call.

"No more alone time bro'," Mikey said as he kneeled next to Leo.

"Owe you," Leo said softly.

"Never." Mikey curled his fingers through Leo's and squeezed gently. "You should rest now. When Donny gets here he'll wrap that arm up tight so the stitches stay closed."

"I'll rest at home. I'll walk home too," Leo insisted.

"That's one of the things I love about you bro'," Mikey said with a smile. "You never quit."

"You know one of the things I love about you, Mike?" Leo asked in a low tone.

"Go ahead and tell me," Mikey said. "I like hearing good stuff about myself."

"Your voice." Leo reached up and stroked Mikey's cheek gently. "Say you'll always talk to me."

"That's a promise I'll never have a problem keeping," Mikey whispered as he leaned in to steal another kiss.


End file.
